One Cold Morning
by RandomIncog
Summary: Mornings in Atlas could get pretty chilly. Good thing they had a blanket to share. Prompt made for WhiteKnight Week: Day 3- Healing.
1. One Cold Morning

**AN: Hey guys, this is the first story I've made on FF. This was based on the healing prompt for the pretty much dead WhiteKnight Week (may it rest in peace). Hope you enjoy!  
**

 **Beta: PotatoBlaster**

* * *

The early morning rays seeped into one of the many Atlas Academy common rooms. Linen drapes covered the frosty window, trying their best to hold in the natural alarm clock, but alas. The soft light made its way onto the couch, tickling the couple currently in slumber.

The boy was the first to wake. Letting out a big yawn, he went to stand only for a weight on his chest to keep him down. He looked down. It was her. His dark blue eyes widened at the sight. Before he could even think of what to do next, he heard the blanket shuffle. Ocean met ice. Both waited for the other to move, to do something.

But neither moved.

Seconds turned to minutes as they gazed at each other. His hands were still holding her sides. Hers were clasped onto the fabric of his hoodie.

"Uhh...," said a flabbergasted Jaune, trying to get something, anything out to break the silence. "Good morning?"

The girl on top kept her face still, before a smile creeped onto it. Then, a short burst of giggling. "Good morning…" She moved a stray strand of hair from her vision, turning her head away shyly, yet never leaving his eyes.

"Sorry…" said Jaune. "I'm just… not good at small talk... I guess." His embarrassed smile seemed to give a bit of confidence to Weiss. "I suppose I'm not the best at it either," she chuckled. She turned her head, facing him fully once again.

Jaune furrowed his brows and made a small grin towards her. "I thought you needed to know these sorts of things, Miss 'Heiress of the Schnee Dust Company'."

This remark earned him a slight punch on his shoulder. "Oh, ha-ha, very funny," Weiss said dryly.

The silence returned, only this time it wasn't as awkward.

Although both felt it, neither said it. This moment between them was electrifying. For the first time in a while, Jaune hadn't felt guilty about Pyrrha, and Weiss didn't feel like she was alone.

It was just them on that couch, in that room.

* * *

The victory at Atlas had been their first real victory since Mistral, which had only been five months ago. Leaving Haven, the group detoured to Beacon after Glynda had made contact. It was here they gained the Relic of Choice, but lost the Relic of Knowledge. They soon found themselves in their original destination of Atlas, where they were not only able to save the Relic located at the academy, but also get Weiss her position as Heiress back.

It had been a long night of celebrating. Yang and Neon made quite the partying combo. Flynt provided the music. Nora was able to redeem herself by not spilling punch all over her in front of Ren. All in all, it was a nice night. The first in a while really. After clean up, the two teams and their other companions went off to bed. At least, that had been what was planned.

After twisting and turning for an hour, Jaune sighed and leapt up from his bed. Looking around the room, he saw the dozing faces of his teammates. Even with her mouth open, drool escaping to the covers, Nora looked peaceful. Ren was more organized, ramrod straight with his hands crossed. Quietly shuffling to the door, Jaune made his exit.

Upon entering the hallway, he noticed a light flickering between a multitude of colors from the common room. _Guess someone left the TV on_ , he thought. With nothing better to do, Jaune made his way to the source of the light.

Entering the common room, he noticed Weiss, in her sky colored pajamas, on the couch blankly staring at the television. Milky hands positioned over one another in her lap, as her petite frame was slightly slumped. The headphones on her head were slouched back, like no care was put into them being straightened. Noticing the blonde in the hall, she sat upright, carefully removing the black audio device and looking over in his direction.

"Oh, sorry," he said. "I saw the light and thought someone had left it on. I'll be out of your hair." He turned to go back to his room.

"No," Weiss called out. "Stay. I insist." She motioned to the empty seat beside her. Jaune lets out a small smile before sinking down beside her. The two sat in a calm silence, allowing the screen's light to wash over them in the otherwise dim room.

"Couldn't sleep either?" Jaune asked.

Weiss shook her head. "I suppose not," she said with a little smile before turning back to the now captioned television.

Jaune smiled back, but he could sense that something was wrong. "Hey," he said. "If anything's wrong, you can talk to me about it."

Weiss flashed him a confused look. "Everything's fine Jaune, what are you talking about?"

Jaune crossed his arms before snickering. "You've been training me three times a week since we left Mistral," he said, lifting up his fingers to showcase his point. "Staring at nothing, wanting company only to not talk, changing the way you presented yourself once we made eye contact. I think I know when something's up."

Weiss looked away in silence for a brief moment, before crossing her arms and leaning back into the couch. She let out a tired sigh. "What if it takes over?" she asked. Her eyes shifted, staring blankly at the ceiling.

Jaune sent her a confused look. She let out a groan before continuing.

"The workload Jaune," she explained. "What if work at the SDC takes over and becomes too much? It would mean me staying in Atlas… being left behind."

He'd never seen her so torn. Even after getting speared, she hopped up and acted like nothing happened. Now, her face resembled that of the huntsman they found outside of the destroyed town. He could feel a twinge in his heart. _She shouldn't have to think like that_ , he thought.

Without even thinking, he reached out and took Weiss' hand in his. "We'd never make you feel left behind Weiss," he told, staring directly into her eyes. "Everyone was split up once. We- **I** , won't allow that to happen. Not again."

Weiss looked down at his hand. "Still though," she tried, "if it becomes too much-"

"It won't," Jaune said firmly, "because you won't allow it to. You're Weiss Schnee. The only thing that could defeat you would be a clone of yourself." He paused. "Or maybe Ruby on a sugar high," he said shuddering. "Nora still has nightmares."

A slight giggling came from his side. Weiss held her free hand over her mouth, trying to stifle the escaping laughs. It was contagious. Before long, both were quietly chuckling in the compacted room.

"I'm happy to see you like this again," Weiss said, looking downward. "Serious Jaune is impressive, but, and I thought I'd never think this, it's nice to have awkward Jaune back from time to time."

"What are you talking about?" Jaune gasped, dramatically placing a hand over his chest. "I'm not awkward. I've always been serious!"

Once again Weiss let out a light chuckle before her eyes fell on their held hands. "How are you," she sighed. "Really?"

The purple of the current TV commercial danced on Jaune's face. "I don't think I'll ever be a hundred percent," he admitted. "I mean, how could I?" A soft smile graced his face. "But, I've accepted that though. She… Pyrrha… wouldn't want me to be like this, and I want to be happy. Plus, as the only Arc boy of the bunch, dad would kill me if I don't continue the lineage."

Weiss let out a snort. "Still…" she said quietly. "I'm glad."

She began to unconsciously run her thumb on the other side of Jaune's hand. He thanked Oum that the commercial dimmed, allowing his deep blush to go unnoticed.

They remained like this until the smaller of the two let out low yawn.

"I guess I should go get some rest…" Weiss hesitated.

Jaune took notice but failed to say anything. He felt the warmth of her hand leave his as she got up and turned to the hallway. She stopped halfway before looking back towards Jaune.

"Thanks for the talk," she said quietly. "It… it helped. More than you know."

Flashing him a genuine smile, she moved back to the dorms.

"You don't have to go!"

Weiss stopped in her tracks.

Jaune slapped his hands over his traitorous mouth.

 _Crapcrapcrapcrapcrap_ he thought.

"What was that?" asked Weiss, unmoving.

"I- I- uh- um-" Jaune stuttered. "I- I said that- uh, I said… and by that, I did- didn't mean… not that I thought you would ever… um…"

Seconds ticked by in complete silence.

"You know what?" Jaune all but shouted. "Sleep! Sleep sounds good! Yup! In fact, I'm gonna head to my room right now! Goodnight, Wei-!"

Before Jaune could get up from the couch, darkness had consumed him.

 _So this is what it's like to be dead huh?_ he thought. _It feels somewhat cozy. Kind of warm even… Is this Hell?_

The darkness disappeared, revealing that the room was now pitch-black. The only light was from the scroll that Weiss was using, illuminating her blushing face. She set the scroll on the end table behind Jaune and promptly turned the brightness down.

Before Jaune could comprehend what was happening, Weiss hoisted the blanket up (so **that** was what it was), sliding in so that she was now laying top of Jaune. With her head on his upper chest, she let the blanket fall back down. She was covered from the neck down. Jaune was covered from the torso down.

Weiss moved her arms underneath him, hugging him close. Jaune remained unmoving, worried that the tiniest of actions would send her running. He also felt like fainting. He didn't know if that was from the situation, or from the heat that he felt engulfing his face.

Weiss nuzzled into the fabric of his hoodie. "Goodnight to you too Jaune," she yawned, while letting out a contented sigh.

Jaune tested the waters. Slowly, he brought his hands to her sides. When there was no retaliation, he moved them so he was holding onto her back. Weiss shifted more to accommodate the new embrace. Jaune soon returned to breathing normally, allowing himself to get relaxed.

Once the stigma of Weiss laying on him wore off, Jaune started to become more aware of his surroundings.

The smell of lavender shampoo filled his nose.

He could feel Weiss' chest moving in and out with each tranquil breath.

The sound of her breathing brought him a feeling of relief.

Relief that she wasn't leaving.

Letting out a tired sigh, Jaune tightened his grip around Weiss and let his eyes drift shut. The sound of her light snores filled his ears before sleep overtook him.

* * *

Jaune slowly moved his hands up and down, caressing Weiss' back. Her eyes were shut. Her breathing was low and content. She rested her head on top of her crossed arms, using her fingers to trace tiny circles on his chest.

For such an intimate moment, Jaune realized that nothing felt sexual. It hadn't felt normal either. It was just… comforting.

The two stayed like this a while longer before Weiss begrudgingly made an effort to sit upwards. She crawled a bit forward so she could grab the scroll she toyed with last night. Putting in her password, she was met with the LED screen of an alarm clock.

"6:45," she sighed. "Fifteen minutes before the alarm I set goes off. Maybe while we're still ahead of the clock, we should go back to our rooms before our teammates wake up."

Jaune sensed it again.

 _Hesitation_.

"Why would we do that?" he asked. "You said it yourself, we still have fifteen minutes."

Weiss looked thoughtful for a couple of seconds before sending a smirk down to Jaune. "It **is** a bit chilly out," she breathed. "I suppose curling up under the blanket would be the best solution to warm up. Wouldn't want to get sick, now would we?"

Jaune raised an eyebrow. "Sick, huh?" he said. "Didn't you make a big show of how cold weather doesn't affect you when we first got here?"

"Hmpf." Weiss grabbed the blanket and began pulling. Before long, darkness surrounded them, cutting off the outside world. "I was referring to you, lunkhead." Weiss moved up somewhat, burying her head in the crook of Jaune's neck. Jaune moved to rest his head on top of hers.

There was no more talking, no worrying of what was to come out of this. For now, It was just them. The only audible noises being the occasional shifting of bodies, fabric from their clothes being ruffled, and relaxed breathing.

The world they lived in was cruel.

They weren't guaranteed tomorrow.

Neither were their friends.

That's why they could take solace in brief moments like this.

Bundled up under a blanket, on a cold Atlas morning.


	2. One Warm Blanket

**AN: I decided to continue this piece. Originally it was supposed to be a one shot, but I've had a few ideas on how it could continue. Thanks to everyone for the positive feedback as well! I'm glad everyone's liking it so far. Again, please let me know what you think of this. Good or bad, it all helps. Hope you enjoy!**

 **Beta: PotatoBlaster**

 **Other grammar correction credits: Anton and Jesse**

* * *

 _BEEP, BEEP, BEEP… BEEP, BEEP, BEEP… BEEP, BEEP_ , _BEEP..._

The volume of the alarm clock had been lowered to not draw attention towards the common room. It still accomplished its job, though.

A pair of audible groans came from under the blankets on the couch. A dainty hand lethargically moved out of the covers, trying to find the dreaded sound. Once the hand took hold of the scroll, it disappeared below the black fabric.

Under the covers, Weiss and Jaune both stared in disdain at the time.

7:00 a.m.

Weiss fell back into Jaune's neck with a groan. Jaune took hold of the scroll and sighed.

"I guess times up, huh?" he said.

Weiss nodded, exhaling deeply. "It would appear so," she whispered into the crook of Jaune's neck.

Feeling Weiss' lips move lightly across his skin along with the heat of her breath sent a shiver through Jaune's body. Goosebumps formed on his arms as his cheeks grew darker by the second.

 _Please don't let her notice_ , he pleaded.

"What was that?" she questioned.

 _She noticed_.

Leaning upwards, Weiss looked back to Jaune for an answer, only to be met with his eyes staring away and his cheeks rosy. A small smirk took over her face.

"Is it that easy to get you flustered?" she teased.

"Yeah, well," sighed Jaune, "it's not every day one of the cutest girls you've met sleeps with you." His head tilted to see if his answer garnered any reaction form Weiss.

It did.

"Weiss, is it **that** easy to get you flustered?" he taunted.

Weiss rolled her eyes before the smile she had faded. She shifted so she was no longer on top of Jaune, but lying next to him. Jaune in turn moved his back to the back of the couch, allowing her the room she needed to face him. His hand remained at her side, giving her a reassuring smile.

He knew what was coming next.

"What does this make us?" she asked.

Good question. What did it make them?

Jaune's eyes never left hers, yet Weiss could see he was just as unsure as herself. Her breathing hitched, but her eyes softened. The feeling of being both relaxed and stressed was nothing new when she was around him.

"I… I don't know," he admitted. Steeling himself, he asked "Weiss, what do you feel towards me?"

Weiss looked thoughtful for a second. "I don't know," she echoed. She searched his eyes for any sense of hurt, but there was none to be found. "That's not to say I don't have feelings for you. It's just… it's just I don't understand **what** feelings I have for you."

Jaune sighed in relief. "We're in the same boat then."

"Wait." Weiss' eyes grew in disbelief. "You feel the same?" she asked.

"Yeah," Jaune nodded. "I've been confused, scared even, with my feelings towards you."

He took a few seconds viewing around their fabric cocoon, trying to get is words in order.

Weiss waited patiently, yet Jaune could sense she was getting anxious.

"Remember the first night we returned to Beacon?" Jaune finally asked. Weiss gave a quick nod before he continued. "I wanted to be alone, to just not think about anything. I went to the roof that Pyrrha and I trained on. All I did was sit and look out into the destroyed courtyard. And then I heard this light tapping noise coming closer to the doorway."

* * *

The world seemed to slow when he saw her standing in the doorway.

She had watery eyes, matching against his bloodshot red. The both of them didn't move. They sat in a cold silence as the moon bathed them in its glow. The cries of distant Grimm echoed through the sky, but their screams of agony went unnoticed.

With a sniff, Weiss wiped her arm across her face, clearing it of any falling tears. The sight of another crying teamma-family member, slowly started to generate more tears in Jaune's eyes. Not wanting Weiss to see his strength falter, he turned back to the ruins. He tried his best to prevent his eyes from emptying the salty water.

But he had failed. Again.

He felt himself tremble as a streamline of tears ran down his cheeks. The warm liquid fell from Jaune's face to the courtyard below.

Weiss shouldn't see him like this. It would just make her feel worse than she already did. Everyone was doing their best to keep it together. She must've come up to be alone, like he had. He had ruined that.

 _THUMP._

Jumping at the sound, Jaune turned and saw Weiss sitting next to him on the edge. She didn't meet his eyes. Rather, she was doing what he had been doing: Staring at the ruins of their previous failure.

" _You just sat there. You didn't say anything. You didn't acknowledge me. You just sat there. You gave us what both of us sought for, yet completely threw it away. You could have went anywhere else._ _ **I**_ _could have went anywhere else. But we didn't."_

After his eyes had dried, Jaune looked over to Weiss. Her own eyes were downcast. Her hands were clasped onto the edge of the roof. Her hair didn't flow. It looked dead. Even still, she held herself upwards. _For him_.

She was doing what he couldn't: Protecting her family.

" _From that point on, my mind would just wander to you. It would happen randomly. I would think about how strong you are. How much you've grown. How caring you are. How funny you could be…_

" _It scared me._

" _I didn't want to fall for you again. I didn't want our friendship to fall apart due to me doing something stupid."_

"We should get some rest," he said.

Giving a small smile, she nodded. Jaune was the first to rise, holding his hand out so he could hoist Weiss up. Turning their backs to the wasteland, they made for the staircase.

"Thank-" they said in unison. Both began to laugh. The message got across.

* * *

"I guess our friendship is pretty much different now, huh?" Jaune chuckled.

Weiss grinned, rolling her eyes, waiting for Jaune to continue.

"Ever since then, these thoughts have just… been there," he said. "Except, they're different from how I felt during our Beacon days. I can't explain it, but that's how it is."

"Is that why you get nervous around me when it's only us?" she asked, amused.

"Was it really that obvious?"

The look in the girl's face told him that yes, it was obvious.

Jaune let out a deep sigh before dropping his head. _Of course_ , he thought.

A tiny giggle and a new hand on his arm brought his head back up. Weiss was shaking her head back and forth. "You're really not good in social situations, are you?" she teased.

It was Jaune's turn to chuckle. "I guess not, no."

After the two calmed, they laid in silence. Jaune still held to Weiss. Weiss still rubbed Jaune's arm.

"What about you?" he asked. "What do you feel?"

Weiss shut her eyes and exhaled.

"Please don't think wrongly of me," she said.

Jaune furrowed his brows. "What do you mean?" he asked.

"After the attack on Haven, that's when I offered my services for training, yes?" Jaune nodded. "My intentions, though they helped you gain experience, were less than stellar. Throughout Beacon, all I did was brush you off and consider you less than worthy of your position on a team, let alone student."

Even though Jaune had known this, it still somewhat hurt to hear. Weiss' hand moved from his arm to the hand at her side.

"All you wanted to do was be a friend to me," she continued, "and I just considered you a waste of space… then you had Neptune talk to me. After the dance, I asked Ruby more about you. I was wrong about Blake, I thought- no, I **knew** , that I was wrong about your intentions. I wanted to apologize, but I couldn't. In my mind, you deserved more than an apology, yet I couldn't bring myself to at least give an 'I'm sorry'. I was too embarrassed to do so."

Weiss was no longer looking into his eyes. She instead stared down past her legs, letting the darkness of the blanket envelop whatever happy feelings she'd once thought. It was the least she could do for allowing herself to stoop so low.

That was, until a hand cupped her cheek.

Looking up, she expected Jaune's eyes to be full of betrayal. He wore a happy smile instead.

"I take it that the reason for helping me out so much was to make amends, right?" he asked. His voice hinted at no malice, rather intrigue.

"It wasn't just that," she sighed dejectedly. "I didn't think I could apologize. It felt like too much time had passed for it to mean anything. I figured that this way, I could clear my conscience and we could become friends. I- I'm sorry."

Jaune's hand left her cheek. He stared at it as he it rolled back and forth over her shoulder. "One of the things that I admire about you," he began, "is how much you strive to make yourself a better person."

"Yes," said Weiss. "But one of the leading forces was my guilt. That wasn't honorable."

"Let me ask you this," Jaune challenged. "Would the you from Beacon even try helping me at all?"

"No, but-"

"That's right, she wouldn't," Jaune interrupted. "The fact that you acknowledge that you felt guilty and strove to fix your wrongs proves this. It doesn't make you selfish."

A reassuring smile slowly found its way back onto Weiss' face. "It was directly after the second Beacon attack," she said quietly. "That's when I knew my feelings weren't simply platonic."

"What seemed different?" asked Jaune.

Weiss shrugged. "I saw you differently than Ruby," she said. "I wanted to spend more time with you, but I felt anxious when doing so. At the same point, it isn't the same nervousness that I felt with Neptune."

 _We really are in the same boat then_ , thought Jaune.

Yet again silence reigned over the two. Their eyes hadn't moved, glued onto each other's irises. Weiss' seemed to grow, but just barely.

Then they widened more.

A bit more.

Why was she-?

"What time is it!" she panicked.

Silly, silly, silly Weiss. They've only been in there for-

"SEVEN-FORT-mmpf!"

The rest of Jaune's shout was cut off by Weiss abruptly clapping her hand over his mouth.

They waited. Waited for any hint that someone was in the room with them. Knowing how Yang was, she wouldn't live this down had she seen them. Ever.

Once they were sure that no one was spying on the large lump of fabric on the couch, the two slowly moved the blanket from their bodies. Breathing out a sigh of relief, the teens hoisted up their bodies so they were sitting on the couch. The air felt fresher and was chillier than they had previously remembered. The soft hum of the air-conditioner filled their ears. Gone was the orange glow of the early morning sun, and in its place the usual grey sky of Atlas. People would be out here shortly.

"I did want to be you friend," Weiss said while stretching out her back. Jaune paused his arm stretching to look over at her. "That was the other reason I wanted to help. It was separate from my feeling of guilt."

Jaune gave an amused smile. "But we already were-"

"Actual friends," Weiss corrected. "Not through other friends, not acquaintances… real friends." Her head tilted to the window, staring dejectedly at the snowy mountains. "My time here alone really put that meaning into perspective." A comforting hand ran up and down her back, causing her to close her eyes and smile. "You know," she said, "we never did figure out what we are now."

Jaune's eyes wandered to the back of her head. He could feel the embers in his chest start to sizzle as he stared at her. They then turned into a wildfire, and then back to sizzling. This fluctuating dance never calmed, but it never changed, either.

"We shouldn't rush into anything unless we know fully what we feel for each other," he said. "Maybe if it were someone else, it'd be different. But it's you, so I can't be so carefree. I don't want to hurt you, Weiss."

Weiss waited. She knew there would be a word to follow. A word that would give her relief, knowing that they weren't going to let this spark die out.

"But-"

She smirked.

"We know something's there. We can't ignore it," said Jaune. "Plus, I don't think we want to ignore it." He chuckled, causing Weiss to breath out a quick snicker.

Weiss let her mind wander for a couple of moments. Her finger tapped under her chin as she let out a low hum.

Jaune watched her as she pondered. To be fair, she was the smarter of the two. If anyone would have a great idea it ought to have been he-

"We could be friends with benefits until we figure it out?"

Jaune stopped breathing.

 _Wh-WHAT!_ He panicked in his head.

"Are y-you sure that's the b-best idea?" he stuttered.

Weiss side-eyed him, looking confused at his reaction. "Well, yeah," she said. "Before Ren and Nora got together-together, they were friends with benefits. Why are you acting so shocked?"

 _SINCE WHEN!_ Jaune's mind screamed.

Had they acted questionably towards some things? Yes. Had they thought to have been a couple thanks to how close they were? Yup. Did they periodically hold hands? Hug? Snuggle under a-?

… _Wait a minute_.

"Hey Weiss?"

"Mhm?" Weiss hummed, still enjoying the feel of Jaune's hand on her back.

"Where did you learn the term 'friends with benefits'?"

"Yang taught me it," she said. "She said it was like a regular friendship, just with more hands-on stuff. Kind of like the cuddling act we performed last night. She said it shows that you care for that person more than how you would a regular friend." She finished, having a bright, accomplished smile.

Jaune leaned up to her ear and started to whisper something.

Eyes like saucers, Weiss' jaw dropped.

Jaune covered his mouth and began vibrating in hysterics.

"I swear that's not what I-!" she all but screamed, before Jaune cracked, breathing out a loud wheeze.

This really was the best morning he's ever had.

"Friends with benefits it is then," he choked out in a fit of laughter.

"Oh-ho no-no-no-no-no-no," she stammered.

"I think you mean, oh-ho yes-yes-yes-yes-yes-yes!"

Jaune Arc was having the best time of his life.

Weiss Schnee wanted to venture out into the Atlesian wilderness where no one could ever hope to find her again.

* * *

Realizing that sound and time were no longer their allies, they knew it was best to return to their respective dorms. Jaune sent Weiss a small wave as he turned to unlock his door. Weiss responded with a hug from behind.

"I'll see you soon," she whispered, letting go of his torso.

With one final glance, both opened their rooms to their sleeping teammates.

Jaune slipped back under the covers, making sure he did so quietly to not disturb Nora. If she was awake, then he wouldn't be able to think, and he needed some time to think. He noticed that upon thinking of Weiss, he didn't feel nervous. It was anxiety now, only not directed at her, but rather at how long it would be until he saw her again.

In the other room, Weiss was having her own internal conflict.

 _So that's why Yang laughed when I asked the team if they wanted to be friends with benefits…_


	3. One Icy Foot

**AN: Update time! Sorry for not updating this story for a quick minute. I was working on another WK story, 'Firsts'. I'm glad you guys are enjoying this story so far! Sad to say though, there's only a few chapters left before its completed. It wasn't meant to be a long story, BUT 'Firsts' and another WK-ish fic I'm planning out will definitely be longer. In fact, once this fic is done, the other WK-ish fic will start being posted. You have no idea how excited I am to get to start that story. I really think you guys will enjoy it. Anyway, here's the new chapter!**

 **Beta: PotatoBlaster (I don't think this guy gets enough credit. Seriously, he saves my ass when it comes to these chapters!)**

* * *

To anyone watching, it would appear that Weiss Schnee was blankly staring at her reflection in the mirror as she combed her hair. To anyone watching, nothing would seem out of the ordinary. To anyone watching, they wouldn't notice that the usually calm, usually collected Heiress of the Schnee Dust Company, was having an early life crisis.

 _I'll be seeing him in a few minutes_ , she thought. _I'm still not done with my hair. I still haven't done my makeup, either! Should I put more than usual on? No, no, no, you're being silly. I'm sure Jaune finds your looks perfectly radian-_

 _CRUNCH!_

The comb had caught a clump of her hair.

With a sigh, she pulled it away only to reapply it, so that the clump would smoothen out.

 _I swear you're acting like a schoolgirl from those weird comic-like books Blake reads. Worrying about their looks in order to catch the eye of their crush…_

Wait a minute.

Could that really be the simple truth of it? That she, Weiss Schnee, had a crush on the loveable oaf, Jaune Arc? No, it couldn't be. The two had already concluded that whatever they were feeling wasn't that simple.

Weiss let out another sigh.

This shouldn't be that difficult. They needed to explore their feelings with each other to figure out what was going on between them. She shouldn't be dwelling on it at this moment.

Right now, she should focus on getting ready for breakfast. There was no reason to fancy herself up. She would simply finish her morning routine and meet up with her friends. It was just going to be a regular, relaxed breakfast.

* * *

"Yo, Weiss!" shouted Yang when Weiss walked into the Atlas Academy Dining Facility. "Wow, not bad on the eye shadow."

"Thank you." Weiss sat down with her tray across from Jaune. His eyes seemed to widen just a tad before he caught himself.

It looked like the decision to apply a bit orange and neutral brown eye shadow, along with a modest amount of mascara on her lashes, was a great choice.

"Ooo," gushed Nora. The hyperactive girl leaned over the table to get a better look. "Not too much, not too little. Really brings out your eyes."

Then, her face turned playful.

"Who you trying to win over with that look?"

Weiss met Nora's gaze with a challenging one of her own.

"A lady doesn't kiss and tell."

Nora's gaze never faltered. Neither did Weiss'.

Their eyes danced back and forth, looking for some semblance of weakness from the other. Weiss could tell that she was winning-

"Yeah, she's just trying something new," concluded Nora. "Nothing to see here."

"Hey!" exclaimed Weiss.

Well, at least the makeup had its desired effect. Jaune had already pretty much referred to her as one of the cutest girls he's ever known. That meant that there really wasn't any reason to wear the makeup-

Weiss looked toward Jaune to steal a glance, only for said boy to look away quickly.

-but admittedly, teasing him was fun.

A light tap from someone's foot drew her attention away from the boy across from her.

"Yes, Ruby?" she asked.

"Hmm?" Her partner turned to her with a confused look, her mouth full of food.

Oh, it must have been an accident, then.

"Never mind," Weiss said.

Ruby shrugged her shoulders before returning to her breakfast.

"When do you think Qrow's gonna be ready to leave for Vacuo?" asked Yang to no one in particular.

As the table began to pick up on the conversation, Weiss once again felt Ruby tap her foot. Turning to look at her, Weiss noticed that Ruby was conversing with Oscar and Blake. She had to have been doing it on purpose. It wouldn't be the first time Ruby had tried to prank Weiss. Not that she was complaining, but this prank was one of her worst. What was her end game? It wasn't like Ruby to get a rise out of Weiss in public. That was usually the job of Yang or Jau-

…

 _Oh, that no good-_

Out of the corner of her eye, she could see that Jaune had his hand held over his mouth in a thoughtful way, staring down at his meal. Weiss could see he was jittering somewhat in place, like he was trying his best not to break.

His poker face had definitely gotten better, but he was a fool for thinking that he could get away with this.

 _Two can play at this game, Arc._

Weiss sent her foot over to tap against his.

Jaune looked up and turned to Nora.

 _Hook, line, sinker._

"Yeah, Nora?" he asked.

"What's up?" she asked, turning away from Ren.

"You tapped my foot?"

"Huh? Oh sorry, I must've done that by accident. My bad," she waved off before resuming her conversation with her boyfriend.

This was _perfect_! Even Nora had thought she did it by accident. It left Weiss the perfect advantage for an encore.

And then he tapped against her foot again. Forgone was the boot that had rubbed against her before, and in its place, the feeling of a soft fabric.

He had his head propped up in his hands as he stared absentmindedly at Weiss. His frisky smile told her all.

Weiss decided to meet his gambit.

Before long, the two were in an ongoing battle underneath the table: feet dominating for supremacy. All the while beneath their friends' noses. Literally.

How _scandalous_.

To not draw attention to their actions under the table, both had looked away from each other and stayed quiet. If their teammates became too involved with their own conversations, odds are no one would care to notice.

Jaune's foot moved from Weiss', upward to her ankle. Weiss could play his game.

She moved her foot away.

The slight shift on Jaune's face told Weiss that he thought he did something wrong.

As discretely as she could, Weiss used her left foot to pull off her right wedge shoe. Then she directed it back to Jaune's ankle.

He caught himself before dropping his utensil.

Hopefully, he now knew he did nothing wrong.

Deciding to be more adventurous, Weiss slipped her foot under Jaune's jean leg hole.

Skin on skin contact.

If Weiss thought this act was scandalous before, that was multiplied by tenfold.

A small giggle from across the table shook her out of her thoughts. She was met with the sight of Jaune clasping both hands over his mouth.

 _So, he's ticklish there, huh?_

His eyes were telling her not to do it.

Well, he had started this battle. Weiss would finish it.

Much like under the blanket a few hours ago, she began tracing a circle on his exposed skin.

It became more obvious how much this was affecting Jaune. His hands were desperately trying to hold in his laughter. He tried to keep his eyes open, but the more ticklish the feeling became, they were soon clenched shut.

Weiss sped up her movements.

"HA HA HA!"

He burst.

Weiss retreated her foot and slipped it back into her wedge shoe.

She had won. Now she got to sit back and watch the show.

And if the faces of her friends were anything to go by, it was going to be a good one.

"Uh, Jaune?" questioned Ren.

Jaune's laughter died immediately. His head slowly creaked back to the table's occupants. They stared in a mix of fear and confusion at the blonde's random fit of laughter.

"Um… yes, Ren?"

"What's… so funny?"

Weiss tried her best to feign a confused look, but it was becoming difficult to keep up as she watched the gears try and turn in Jaune's head.

"Oh uh. Haha um," he struggled. "I-I was laughing at what you said."

"We were talking about Ozpin and how he's left behind so many loved ones over the course of his many life cycles," chimed in a depressed sounding Oscar.

Jaune's eyes enlarged at an alarming rate.

"No! No, no, no!" he yelled out. "I was talking about… Yang! Remember that one pun she made? Starting her semester off with a _Yang_? Phew, that was a hoot."

Silence reigned among the table.

A snort cut through it."What?" asked Yang at the looks she received. "It was a quality pun."

With Yang's stamp of approval, conversation picked up again. Jaune breathed out a sigh of relief and turned back to Weiss.

He was trying his best to look upset, but Weiss wasn't falling for it.

She lightly tapped his foot again.

That seemed to do the trick.

"So, what's everyone got planned for today?" asked Sun.

Weiss wasted no time at all.

"Jaune and I have a scheduled training regimen after breakfast," she said.

"We do?" asked Jaune.

Weiss swiftly kicked him.

"AH-a, I mean, yeah we do."

"Sounds cool!" exclaimed Sun, sending a thumbs-up. "Would it be alright if I join? I could offer some sweet tips on how to survive in the Vacuo deserts."

"Oh, uh," started Jaune. "I'm not sure if that would be the best."

Ren turned towards Sun. "Jaune learns better one-on-one," he explained. "It's been like that since Py-" he caught himself.

Jaune smiled. "It's okay, Ren." He turned back to Sun. "When I trained with Pyrrha, it just sort of stuck," he said. "Sorry, I don't know why, but it just works."

"It's no problem, man," Sun said. "Though, don't think anyone else is getting out of it. Vacuo ain't like Mistral or Atlas. It's a dog-eat-dog world. You'll all have to learn a bit about it before we go." Sun stood up pointed his thumb towards himself. "Luckily, you guys will have the best tour guide that Vacou can offer!"

Blake snorted. "Didn't you get lost that one time on the tour of my house back in Menagerie?"

Sun's tail dropped. He sat back down and started grumbling about Blake's house being too big.

Jaune's foot grabbed Weiss' attention.

He nodded towards the exit of the dining facility. Weiss gave a smile of confirmation.

"Okay," she said. "Jaune and I are going to start our training now. We'll meet up with you guys afterwards."

"You guys have barely touched your food," said Ilia.

"Can I have it?" asked Nora. Truly, the girl enjoyed her pancakes.

"Knock yourself out," replied Jaune, passing over his tray.

"Thanks, Jauney!"

With the table now watching how fast Nora can wolf down a stack of pancakes, Jaune and Weiss made their exit.

* * *

Much like Beacon, Atlas Academy had several distant spots that could provide the two some peace and quiet. Upon first entering the academy, they had found a secluded roof, of which they had decided to make their own training ground. Much like their new "friends with benefits" deal, they hadn't told anyone about their area. No one could fault them, as Yang made it apparent to mess with them when they trained one-on-one at Beacon's training ground. Or, what was left of it, that is.

"That was close," Jaune sighed.

"It was," Weiss agreed, closing the door behind them. "But-" she rested her head against the back of his armor "-you started it."

" _I_ started it?" he asked, bemused. "You're the one who wore more makeup today."

"If I recall, we came to the conclusion that I was just trying something new."

"'We' being Nora."

Weiss breathed out a giggle but challenged no further. He had her backed in the corner that she had created.

"You do look really good, though," Jaune said quietly.

She wrapped her arms around the front of his torso.

"Thanks."

The moment was serene. Much like earlier this morning, she could feel every breath that moved in and out of his chest. Jaune had even moved his hands down to hold onto the arms around his chest. The warmth that his hands brought dispelled the coldness of the Atlesian year-long Winter. As Jaune's body began to sway back and forth like he was enjoying a good piece of music, Weiss found herself following his movements.

"I have to say, Jaune," she said, "never in a million years would I have expected you to get so confident as to initiate a flirt with me as _daring_ as footsie."

Jaune gave Weiss a perplexed look. "Daring, huh?" he grinned. "Odd thing to say, considering you're the one who initiated what we did last night."

Weiss' face turned bright red.

Jaune let out a hardy laugh. "I swear, it is too easy with you."

Weiss narrowed her eyes. "Is that so?"

Weiss' heel flew off to the side.

"AHA! WEI- NO STO- PLEAHEHEHESE!"

She clung to him for dear life as her foot danced around Jaune's exposed ankle, intent on making him suffer the worst possible fate she could think of.

Honestly, he should have known better. Pyrrha had taught him to not give away any weaknesses to an enemy, and Weiss herself had taught him how to use an enemy's weakness against them. This would be yet another learning experience for him to add to his ever-expanding repertoire of fighting techniques.

Good thing too, as it _was_ their training period.

"Had enough?" she asked, slowing down her movements.

Jaune had been reduced to a giggling mess.

"Y-ye-yes," he stammered.

"Yes, what?"

"Yes, ma'am!"

Weiss lowered her foot and hummed in appreciation. Being a mentor had its perks.

Her head soon found its resting point back on Jaune's back. That was all the teaching she had planned for the day. Now it would be just the two of them for a couple of hours. Perhaps Jaune had some ideas on what they could do. Knowing how he was, it would be no shock had he just wanted them to sit and talk. He was just as ecstatic as she had been to figure out these newfound feelings between the two. What would be better than just sitting and talking in order to get to know each other better?

"Hey, Weiss?" he asked.

"Yes, Jaune?"

"How did you take my boot off that quickly and where did you throw it off to?"

 _Hmm?_

"What are you talking about?" she asked. "Your boot was already…"

Their eyes widened.

* * *

"So, should we leave the shoe where we found it or…?" Yang trailed off.

Ruby nodded in confirmation. "I don't think they want us to know what's going on between them." She crossed her arms and pouted. "I can't believe they would want to _hide_ it from us though."

"Ilia," Blake said slowly. "Are you sure that you're not misinterpreting what you saw?"

"They were snuggling on the couch," Ilia said with a shrug. "I don't think I misinterpreted what I saw and heard."

"How did they not see you?" asked Ren.

Ilia stood next to the white wall of the dining hall and changed her skin color to match. 'Oh's' and 'ah's' echoed across the table.

"Right," Yang muttered. "Chameleon Faunus. Gotcha."

"But, your suit's black," said Sun.

"To be fair," said Nora. "They're not exactly the most perceiving bunch."

No one could argue there.

"Now, onto the real question." She slammed her hands onto the table. "Who gets to be the godmother when the baby is born? My vote is Me or Ren."

"Nora," Ren deadpanned. "I can't be a godmother. I'm a boy."

"Oh puh-lease," Nora sang. "You're practically the mother of our team. You'll do the part fine."

"No way!" Ruby shook her head. "Jaune was my first friend at Beacon and Weiss is my best friend AND partner. I call dibs!"

"This is a group vote," Nora scowled. "You can't call dibs!"

"Too late-" Ruby crossed her arms and jutted out her chin to the side, "-I call dibs."

Blake cleared her throat. "For now, let's just drop the subject," she said. "It's obvious that they don't want us to know about it."

"Um." Oscar politely raised his hand. "Why is this a big deal exactly?"

Nora slugged her arm around the young boy's neck. "Ozpin can fill you in on that. Speaking of which, Ilia," she looked towards her. "What did you hear them talk about?"

"Oh," said Ilia. She frowned as she tried to recollect the early morning conversation. "Weiss mentioned that they should just try being friends with benefits for now."

"Aw!" Nora pouted. "Now it'll be no fun being the godparent."

"Wait a minute…"

Everyone turned around to Yang.

"Did you just say that _Weiss_ wanted them to be friends with benefits?"

Ilia nodded back. "Yeah, why?"

Yang snorted.

"Nora, I doubt you'll have to worry about being an _accidental_ godparent."


	4. One Cozy Couch

**AN: Should have seen that one coming. In my other story, I had mentioned that the update schedule would be something like, one new chapter every other week, while this story would be updated on the weeks that weren't set aside for 'Firsts'. The thing I should have realized was that I can never follow a schedule I create. That being said, updates on both stories will be coming out every few weeks or so since classes have started for the Fall semester. Either way, here's a new update! There's only two chapters left in this story after this current one. As always, enjoy and let me know what you think in the reviews!**

 **Beta: PotatoBlaster**

* * *

It had been a full week since this whole thing started, and if he was being honest, Jaune wasn't sure that it would've been possible. To add icing to the already sweet cake, their friends hadn't even found out about them. If their current situation of watching a movie told them anything, it was that they were getting good at hiding it. _Exceptionally_ good, as Weiss would probably add.

"Are you sure this is safe?" he asked.

"When has hand holding ever been risky?" Weiss countered. "Besides, they're hidden under the blanket."

The small lump under the fabric confirmed that yes, they were holding hands. In public. During broad daylight.

They had to look as unsuspicious as possible. Because of this, they sat at a foot apart on the couch, separated by the black blanket that they'd shared from that night a week ago.

"You're right," he said. _As always_ , "I'm just being a worry wart."

Weiss looked over the back of the couch. Her head swiveled back and forth like a squirrel looking for a threat. Once the coast was clear, she turned back to him.

"I guess it doesn't mean we can't be a _little_ bit risky," she said quietly.

"Huh-?"

Her soft, white hair draped over his shoulder. Her head soon followed.

He tensed. She giggled. He relaxed.

"A little bit risky?" he asked, squeezing her hand.

"Just a little," she smirked.

They shifted closer together until their shoulders touched. Weiss nuzzled her head into Jaune's neck, trying to get more comfortable. Once her shuffling stopped, he rested his head on top of hers.

With a shared, contented sigh, they turned back to the movie.

Jaune had been able to talk Weiss into watching 'Decease Harshly' starring the ever-famous Spruce Willis. Coincidentally, it was a movie that had a second entry a little over two years ago. It was the same entry that he had asked Weiss to join him in watching back at Beacon. Granted, it took some time, but like Yang had said that day, " _some day_ ".

He still planned to get her to experience the most amazing sequel in movie history, but they needed to start with where it all began. Weiss had been very willing to give it a shot…

… So what if it was only after Jaune agreed to help her with filing certain paperwork. At the end of the day, he got her to watch one of his most favorite things in the world.

"I don't get it," Weiss said with a frown. "How is this considered a holiday film?"

"What do you mean!?" Jaune's free arm shot towards the television. "It has all the hallmarks of a great holiday movie!"

"How, exactly?" she asked.

"Well, let's see-" Jaune began to count off- "a dad trying to get home to his family, references to other classic movies, the songs…"

"Still," Weiss said with a sigh, "it's too… _violent_ to be a festive movie. How could children watch this with their families during the holiday season?"

"The answer to that is… they don't."

"What!?" she shouted. "But it's a family time of year! Children have to watch television specials _with_ their parents."

"Well, yeah," said Jaune. "But this is for when the kids are asleep… or during a party when everyone gets tired of the holiday specials."

Weiss moved her head from Jaune's shoulder and simply stared at him.

"What?"

" _Tired of the holiday specials?_ " she asked. "How could you _ever_ get tired of them? The Grouch? Icy the Snowman? Rudolph the Red-Nosed Griffon?"

"Wasn't that last one banned because it made kids think Griffons were friendly?"

"Not important," she said quickly. "What _is_ important is the family enjoying these specials together, not apart. _That_ is why Decease Harshly will never be a true holiday film."

Jaune blinked.

"Wow… you really care about the sacredness of those films, don't you?"

Weiss' eyes became downcast as she looked away from Jaune. He winced.

 _Crap, what did I say?_ he thought.

"I never got to watch them with my parents," she said quietly.

… _Dammit Jaune_.

"Hey." He squeezed her hand.

Weiss slowly looked back up at him.

"I'm sorry," he said. "I didn't mean to- you know…"

She shook her head and squeezed back. "It's okay."

Family was a bad subject to bring up with Weiss. He should've stopped while he was ahead, but that just wasn't in Jaune Arc fashion.

"For whatever it's worth," he said, smiling, "in the future, after all of this craziness is over, I know you'll be a great mom."

Weiss scoffed, but her cheeks reddened nonetheless. "You say that like it's the most sure thing in the world."

"And why wouldn't it be?"

Weiss shook her head slightly. "Because you haven't met my parents."

"Well, we learn from our parents. Good or bad, they're what shapes us."

"What if all that you've ever known from them… are just the bad things?"

"That's why I know you'll be good at it," he said. "You'll make sure to never follow in their footsteps. You'll flip the script and do everything with them that you wanted to do as a kid with your parents. Like…" He pointed at the TV screen, "watch holiday classics together, all bundled up on the couch. Maybe you'll have a fireplace going in the background…" he trailed off, shaking his head and turning back to Weiss. "You get the point," he chuckled.

Weiss smiled. "It does sound like an appealing future," she said softly.

"It… it really does, huh?"

And that's when he saw it.

He saw himself huddled under a thick blue blanket with his three kids and wife. Everyone was cozy as the roaring fireplace combatted the ever growing cold thanks to the Winter season. The kid's faces were blurred, however. With no kid of his own, how could Jaune ever even imagine what they'd look like? Not even Professor Peach's lecture on Punnett Squares could help him imagine something so personal. His wife-

A snort brought him out of his musings.

"I could imagine my family not being too fond of my strictness."

Seeing Weiss return to normal, brought out an even bigger smile on Jaune's face. "Oh please," he said, "you're not _that_ strict anymore. Besides, strictness is good in amount. Heck, if we were married, I would be happy knowing that my kids wouldn't turn out to be troublemakers."

In one moment, everything fell still.

In the next, Jaune smacked a hand over his mouth.

"I- I- I didn't mean-!"

Another snort.

"You really need to get better with thinking before you speak."

She… wasn't creeped out by the slip of his tongue? Her eyes were still wide and all, but…

… she was smiling…

It was like a super power with how bad it affected him. All he could do was simply smile dumbly back.

 _KABOOM!_

The sudden audio spike of the movie caused them both to flinch. "Forgot that this was on," muttered Jaune, causing Weiss to roll her eyes. Remote in hand, he turned the volume down a couple of notches.

"Hey, Jaune?" he heard Weiss say.

"Hmm?" He turned towards her. "Yeah?"

She opened her mouth to respond-

"Vomit Boy, Ice Queen."

-only to be interrupted by a usually-welcomed-yet-currently-unwelcome friend.

Jaune and Weiss both shot towards the ends of the couch, putting as much distance between them as humanly possible.

 _Act cool!_ his mind screamed.

"What up," he said in a slightly deeper voice. His eyes didn't stray from the TV.

"Yang!" Weiss said over-excitedly. "How are you doing!?"

Jaune heard the refrigerator door open. "Can't complain," said Yang. "How about you?"

" _Just… swell!_ " Weiss said through clenched teeth.

A loud _clink_ finally got Jaune to turn around. He blinked.

"Uh… Yang," he said slowly, "why is there beer in the student fridge?"

Yang turned to the bottle in her robotic hand. "Thanks to the rules here, Qrow can't have this stuff," she said. "Rubes and I decided to be the heroes and sneak in a few cold ones for him."

Weiss was taken aback. Jaune could feel the lecture building inside of her. "Are you saying that you've been smuggling illegal substances in _our_ living area?"

Yang waved off. "Relax, Weiss," she said, "it's not like this is the first time we've done something like this. Ruby and I know what we're doing."

 _Oh boy_.

Weiss was immediately on her feet. "Yang Xiao-Long," she snapped, "get those beverages out of our refrigerator this instant!"

"No can do, Weiss."

" _Excuse me!?_ "

"I said, no can do," Yang repeated. "Qrow needs to be at the top of his game."

Jaune's eyes met Weiss'. "Is it bad that I sort of agree with her on that one?"

In that moment, he concluded that the pillow next to him was the only safety he had from the glare she shot him.

"He shouldn't be having his _nieces_ sneak him booze," Weiss seethed. "Yang, you have exactly thirty minutes to remove all the alcohol from this room. If it's not gone in that time-"

"What are you gonna do?" Yang cut her off. "Ground me?"

"Okay, okay!" Jaune stood up with his hands raised. "How about we all calm down?"

Yang pouted. "She started it."

"Let me finish," he said. "Yang, listen to your teammate and get the beer out of the fridge. It could get us all in serious trouble."

"But-"

"No 'but's."

Weiss hummed in appreciation before Jaune rounded on her.

"Now, Weiss," he said. "You should also know that thirty minutes _might_ be too little time. Plus, Yang is right, Qrow performs much better when he's drunk."

She let out a groan. "All right, fine." She turned her attention back on Yang. "If you can find another hiding spot by the end of the day that isn't so directly related to us, then I _suppose_ everything would be all right."

"Fine," Yang huffed. "I'll find somewhere else to hide the stash."

"Are we good?" Jaune asked.

Both girls nodded sullenly.

Jaune sighed contentedly as he sank back into the couch. They had missed a bit of the movie, but it really wasn't anything important. He was just happy that they could continue the blockbuster extravaganza. Now, they just needed Yang to leave so they could get back to snuggl-

"Okay, Mom, Dad, I'm bringing the booze back to Uncle Qrow."

The two on the couch immediately turned a light shade of red. Jaune could feel the mix of embarrassment and anger seeping from Weiss' every pore.

"We are _not_ a married couple, Yang!" Weiss exclaimed.

"You're certainly acting like one," she sang, lifting the pack of beer onto the countertop.

"Hmph!" Weiss looked back to the television. "If you'll excuse us, we'd like to get back to watching our movie."

"Oh that's what you were doing?" Yang asked. The hint of playfulness in her voice didn't go unnoticed.

"Is that why when I walked in, you two were like, a lot less than a foot away from each other?"

What was once a tinge of red, now quadrupled into what Jaune could only describe as a flamethrower being unleashed on his face.

"The-tha-tha-that was-wasn't-"

"H-he and I weren't-"

"What she said!"

"We would never-"

"Never!"

"... Right" Yang deadpanned. Her eyes moved back and forth between Jaune's and Weiss'. The slyest of grins formed.

"Don't you two get _too_ frisky while I'm gone."

The couple's eyes grew to the size of saucers.

Yang's laughter carried all the way to the door.

 _Click._

And then they were alone.

"She- she can't possibly know can she!?" panicked Weiss.

"How should I know!" Jaune exclaimed in a hushed voice. "She's your teammate!"

Weiss let out an exasperated groan, running her hands through her hair. "There had to have been signs if she's known. Have you noticed her acting any different towards you?"

Jaune looked away thoughtfully. "Now that you mention it..." he trailed off.

"Yeah?"

"She's been… _friendlier?_ If that makes any sense?"

"Friendlier as in?"

"Well," he started, "she's been, I guess, touchier."

Weiss motioned with her hands for him to continue.

"Pats on the arm, shoulder rubs, a hug every now and again…" Jaune's eyes widened along with Weiss'.

"Oh no," Weiss gasped. "Do you know what this means!?"

"It's worse than we thought!" Jaune exclaimed, turning to face Weiss. "Yang has a crush on me!"

"Eh?"

"The closeness, even the teasing a few minutes ago! They're textbook flirting techniques."

Weiss' hand promptly met her face. "You bonehead, Yang doesn't have a crush on you."

"What?"

"Jaune," she said, lowering her hand, "Yang knows about us. That's why she's being touchy. It's to garner a reaction from you."

Jaune stared blankly. "Ohhh…"

"Did you really think she developed a crush on you out of thin air?"

"... No."

"Oh sweety," she teased, patting his leg.

He shot her a look, causing her to breathe out a snicker.

"I'm not sure the extent of her knowledge though," Weiss continued, moving her hand back to her lap. "Her parting words were on the more… _indecent_ side of things, but knowing Yang, that means she either knows how minute of a mature relationship we have and is just trying to get under our skin, or she knows very little and her mind is filling the gaps with what she expects us to be doing."

Jaune sighed. "What do we do then?"

If Yang knew, there was a decent chance Ruby knew.

And if Ruby knew… all would know…

"Maybe… nothing."

"Nothing?" Jaune asked.

"They haven't said anything to us, Jaune," A more peaceful look overtook her face. "Even if Yang is teasing, she hasn't directly called us out. If they know, it means they're letting us have this all to ourselves."

That… made a lot of sense actually. Ren and Nora had been trying to help him get past Pyrrha for the longest time. It wasn't a bad gamble to assume that Weiss' team just wanted her to be happy, as she wishes the same for them.

They had really lucked out in the friendship jackpot, hadn't they?

Weiss coughed into her fist. She nodded her head back to the TV. The message was clear: worry about this later, enjoy what was left of the movie now.

* * *

It wasn't long before the action ended, signalling the upcoming end to the movie. Jaune had snuck several glances at Weiss, trying to gauge her reactions to certain scenes. Whether she would admit it or not, he caught her chuckling at several moments, no doubt from the absurdity of the situations.

"This isn't a good holiday film," she said firmly.

Not one of the things he had been expecting at that moment.

"But…?" he prodded.

"But…" she sighed. "It's not that bad of a regular film, I suppose."

"Yes!" Jaune threw his hands into the air. "I knew I could get you to see the awesomeness of Decease Harshly!"

Weiss rolled her eyes. "Also know that watching it with you is why I'm giving it such a praise."

"Because I'm the best?"

"No," she stuck her head up in an almost regal way, " _I'm_ the best." Her eyes shifted over to Jaune. "You're second best."

"Eh," he shrugged, "honestly that's way higher up than I thought I'd be."

"Kind of hard to be any lower considering, well, you know."

Weiss scooted towards him, wrapping both her arms around his left.

"Before we were interrupted by Yang," she started, "I just… I just wanted to say thank you."

"For?"

"For saying that I'd make a good mother."

Jaune laughed quietly. "You don't need to thank me for pointing out the obvious."

"Still, for what it's worth-" her head lowered until it was on his shoulder, as her eyes stared back at the TV- "you'd make a great father as well. And… if we were married, I'd be glad knowing that the children would be in the best possible hands."

"… Thanks, Weiss."

Perhaps the faces of his figurative kids would stay blurred. Until he had them, that is.

His figurative wife though, was never blurred.

And how could she be?

She would sooner freeze him on the spot to preserve his memory of her than to ever have herself degraded to be but a blur.


End file.
